Efficacy of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Randomized-Controlled Trial of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy vs. Treatment by Experienced Community Psychotherapists for Borderline Personality Disorder

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00714311
• Other study ID #: 1106/04
• Secondary ID: 10636DPG0802
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: July 9, 2008
• Last updated: February 4, 2015
• Start date: October 2004
• Est. completion date: February 2015

Study information

• Verified date: February 2015
• Source: University Hospital Muenster
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Germany: Ethics Commission
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is effective in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.

Description:

Borderline personality disorder represents a sever clinical condition that affects 1-2% of the community and is characterized by a pervasive instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, as well as a marked impulsivity; up to 10% of the patients commit suicide.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is one psychotherapeutic approach among five that have been manualized and evaluated in RCTs. So far, TFP has not been compared to a control condition which is a crucial step in the evaluation of the efficacy of a psychosocial intervention.

This study is an RCT that compares one year of outpatient TFP to treatment by experienced community psychotherapists for borderline personality disorder.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 104
• Est. completion date: February 2015
• Est. primary completion date: February 2009
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 45 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Written informed consent to the participation in the study

• Diagnosis of BPD according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II

• Age between 18 and 45 years

• Sufficient knowledge of the German language

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe substance abuse, organic pathology, or mental retardation according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-I

• Diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder according to DSM-IV as assessed using the SCID-II

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Personality Disorders

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Transference-Focused Psychotherapy
Outpatient psychotherapy according to the treatment manual, sessions of 50 minutes twice per week
• treatment by experienced community psychotherapists
Outpatient psychotherapy in private practices or outpatient units of psychiatric hospitals. Licensed psychotherapists with experience and special interest in the treatment of borderline patients are treating according to the method they have learned.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Austria	Dept. of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University Vienna	Vienna
Germany	Dept. of Psychiatry, Technical University of Munich	Munich	Bavaria

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University Hospital Muenster

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

Austria,  Germany, 

References & Publications (3)

Clarkin JF, Levy KN, Lenzenweger MF, Kernberg OF. Evaluating three treatments for borderline personality disorder: a multiwave study. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;164(6):922-8. — View Citation

Kernberg OF, Yeomans FE, Clarkin JF, Levy KN. Transference focused psychotherapy: overview and update. Int J Psychoanal. 2008 Jun;89(3):601-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-8315.2008.00046.x. Review. — View Citation

Levy KN, Meehan KB, Kelly KM, Reynoso JS, Weber M, Clarkin JF, Kernberg OF. Change in attachment patterns and reflective function in a randomized control trial of transference-focused psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006 Dec;74(6):1027-40. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Drop-out	Did not finish one year of treatment.	1 year	No
Primary	Suicidality (Suicide Attempts)		1 year	No
Secondary	Psychosocial Functioning (Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF-Score)		1 year	No
Secondary	Level of Personality Organization (Structured Interview for Personality Organization, STIPO)		1 year	No
Secondary	Number of Self-harming Acts		1 year	No
Secondary	Self-assessment of Psychopathology (BDI, STAI, BSI)		1 year	No
Secondary	Attachment Style and Reflective Function (Adult Attachment Interview, AAI)		1 year	No
Secondary	Borderline Symptomatology (DSM-IV Criteria)		1 month	No